Trump gives Mattis authority to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan

TOP NEWS — TRUMP GIVES MATTIS FREE HAND ON AFGHANISTAN TROOP LEVELS, reports The New York Times: “President Trump has given Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority to determine troop levels in Afghanistan, three administration officials said Tuesday, opening the door for sending more American forces to a war that the Pentagon chief acknowledged the United States was ‘not winning.’

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“Mr. Mattis is believed to favor sending several thousand more American troops to strengthen the effort to advise Afghan forces as they push back against gains made by the Taliban, the Islamic State and other militant groups. But officials said he had not yet decided how many more forces to send to Afghanistan, or when to deploy them.

“One United States official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing internal deliberations, said that Mr. Trump decided on Tuesday morning to grant Mr. Mattis the authority. It was the latest in a series of moves by the White House to give the Pentagon and its military commanders more latitude to deploy forces and carry out operations.”

— ‘WE ARE NOT WINNING,’ MATTIS SAYS, via our colleague Connor O’Brien: “Defense Secretary James Mattis, facing tough questions from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, said Tuesday the U.S. and its allies ‘are not winning’ in Afghanistan and promised a new strategy by the middle of July.

“The Arizona Republican slammed the administration and sharply questioned Mattis over why a new strategy has not been developed to help turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan, where the militant Taliban is overwhelming the Afghan government in key parts of the country and other terrorist groups, like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have made new inroads.

“‘We want a strategy, and I don’t think that’s a hell of a lot to ask,’ McCain, an Arizona Republican, told Mattis. ‘We’re now six months into this administration. We still haven’t got a strategy for Afghanistan. It makes it hard for us to support you when we don’t have a strategy. We know what the strategy was for the last eight years: Don’t lose.’”

“Mattis conceded that ‘We are not winning in Afghanistan right now’ and pledged that ‘we will correct this as soon as possible.’”

Up next for Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford: an appearance this morning before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee — their third of four Capitol Hill hearings this week.

SENATE BACKS SAUDI ARMS DEAL, reports POLITICO’s Elana Schor: “The Senate on Tuesday defeated a bipartisan bid to block about $500 million in President Donald Trump's arms sales to Saudi Arabia, with four Republicans joining most Democrats to rein in the weapons deals.

“The effort to stop the weapons sales, authored by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), fell short on a 47-53 vote, with five Democrats voting to preserve deals that humanitarian groups have warned risk exacerbating the violent civil war in Yemen.”

And Trump will resume delivering Saudi Arabia precision-guided munitions despite objections from some lawmakers that they have led to civilian casualties in Yemen, Reuters writes.

HAPPENING TODAY — TILLERSON IN THE HOUSE: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson rounds out his week on Capitol Hill this morning, testifying at the House Foreign Affairs Committee and this afternoon before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.

— SENATE COMMITTEE PROBES THE TOOLS OF TERROR: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hears from former government and think tank officials this morning about the “Tools, Tactics and Techniques of Violent Extremism.”

— AND A SENATE APPROPS PANEL EYES THE NUKE BUDGET: National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz joins the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee this afternoon to discuss his agency’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal.

"I was just reporting our views about the testimony that was received about readiness and the problems in the military, about where we come up with what it takes to fix it in [fiscal year] '18, and then talked about our reform agenda. And then they had some suggestions," the Texas Republican said after the meeting.

The conservative group is likely to push for cuts in mandatory programs through the budget process, but Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Thornberry's talk was well received. He added caucus members want to negotiate topline spending numbers with House leader and the Armed Services and Budget committees.

"The key that unlocks it all is coming up with a budget agreement," Meadows told reporters. "Whether it's $603 [billion] or $640 [billion] or somewhere in between, I think a number of us are willing to look at that, in anticipation that we may have to look at other areas, whether it's welfare reform, tax reform, or some of the other issues."

MATTIS GETS RUSSIA ADVICE FROM A COLD WAR PREDECESSOR, via our colleague Bryan Bender:Former Defense Secretary William Perry met with Mattis this week and urged the Pentagon chief to seek ways to communicate regularly with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoygu, in addition to the increasingly frequent meetings and calls between their respective military chiefs.

"It is very important to try to get that started," Perry tells MD he relayed to his former colleague at Stanford's Hoover Institution, who also once worked for him in the Pentagon in the 1990s.

Perry also said the two discussed options for dealing with North Korea, including the benefits of diplomacy, but said he did not relay to Mattis his views on costly plans to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, parts of which he has been highly critical of.

"He knows where I stand," Perry said.

Perry, 89, also said a takeaway from the meeting is the very close relationship between Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, which he considers critically important.

Another of Perry's takeaways: "I'm not sure he's too happy to be in the job."

— AMERICA’S NORWEGIAN OUTPOST, writes the NYT: “The population of the Arctic island of Vardo has shrunk to half of what it was 20 years ago, and the fishing industry that sustained its residents for generations has mostly collapsed.

“But the local power company, citing a mysterious surge in electricity demand, began work last month to increase energy supplies, laying a thick new cable in a tunnel under the icy waters that separate the island from the Norwegian mainland.

“The new electricity cable, along with the recent appearance of earth-moving equipment atop a rocky plateau overlooking Russia across the sea, points to one business that is flourishing in this part of the Arctic: snooping on Russia’s expanding fleet of nuclear submarines armed with ballistic missiles in the Barents Sea.”

SESSIONS SLAMS ‘DETESTABLE LIE,’ reports POLITICO’s Seung Min Kim and Josh Gerstein: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions forcefully defended his personal integrity on Tuesday, testifying that any suggestion he colluded with Russian officials to affect the 2016 election was ‘a detestable lie,’ even as he repeatedly refused to answer questions about his conversations with President Donald Trump.

“Sessions provided several fresh insights into his role in the Russia controversy engulfing the Trump administration, revealing that he has avoided internal DOJ conversations about the FBI’s Russia probe since he was sworn in, that he's never been briefed on Russia's alleged campaign to affect the U.S. presidential race, and that he never warned FBI Director James Comey that his job was on the line before he was abruptly fired by Trump last month.”

Key moments from Tuesday’s hearing are here, Five takeaways are here. And a full transcript is here.

But Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says he’d ignore calls to fire Mueller unless he considered them “lawful and appropriate,” add Kyle and Josh.

— A RUSSIA-IRAN SANCTIONS BILL ADVANCES IN THE SENATE, Elana adds: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday teed up a final vote as soon as this week on a bipartisan Iran sanctions bill that is also set to include a bipartisan agreement to boost penalties against the Russian government and make it more difficult for President Donald Trump to lift them.

“McConnell moved to wind down debate on the Iran sanctions bill, which counts 58 cosponsors in both parties, with a key procedural vote expected Thursday.”

WAR REPORT — U.S. AND IRAN PROXIES PRESS FORWARD IN RAQQA, reports The Washington Post: “U.S.-backed forces cleared mines from the eastern fringe of the Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa on Tuesday as a second front south of the city appeared to falter...

“Meanwhile, U.S.- and Iranian-backed forces have been jostling for position ahead of an offensive to capture the area of Deir-al-Zour in eastern Syria.”

— CIVILIAN CASUALTIES CLOSE HEARTS AND MINDS, writes The Huffington Post: “Overturning more than a decade of careful ‘hearts and minds’ military operations, the United States has signaled that the major U.S.-backed combat offensives against ISIS in Iraq and Syria should proceed regardless of the cost to civilians.

“Under orders to ‘annihilate’ the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State, the Defense Department is unleashing airstrikes, long-range artillery and rocket fire against ISIS-held neighborhoods in Raqqa, Syria, where civilians have been told by U.S.-backed militias to shelter in place. Meanwhile, airstrikes continue against ISIS positions in the Iraqi city of Mosul.”

Additionally, Human Rights Watch is criticizing the alleged use of white phosphorus by the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq for endangering civilians, adds the AP.

THE HOUSE SENDS VA ACCOUNTABILITY BILL TO THE PRESIDENT, reports Connor: “The House [Tuesday] gave overwhelming final approval to legislation to make it easier to discipline poor performing employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, sending the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature.

“The measure, approved 368 to 55, is the first major accountability legislation to pass Congress in nearly three years, after a 2014 wait times scandal roiled the VA and prompted lawmakers to adopt legislation aimed at boosting access to medical care and accountability for problem employees.”

SENATE APPROPRIATORS TEMPORARILY RELY ON THIS YEAR’S LEVELS, reports Sarah: “Still awaiting a budget blueprint, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said [Tuesday] that he has instructed appropriators to temporarily rely on spending limits from fiscal 2017 as they write new bills.

“McConnell's comments appear to be laying the groundwork for a continuing resolution that would extend the fiscal 2017 package, as many Republicans already anticipate. But the Kentucky Republican also said he hoped to reach a deal with Democrats to set new spending levels ‘sooner rather than later.’”

TOP DOC — GAO WEIGHS DoD’S TOP 5 CHALLENGES, reports Bryan: “The Government Accountability Office has released an overview of what it considers the five priority areas that the Department of Defense must confront — part of the watchdog's effort to alert agencies to major challenges as the Trump administration gets rolling.”

MAKING MOVES — WAITING ON A PENTAGON ’BOW WAVE,’ via Breaking Defense: “There are a lot of empty offices around the E-ring, the most prestigious sector of the Pentagon, where top defense officials enjoy the rare privilege of windows. But that’s about to change, a senior aide to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told me.

“‘There’s a bow wave of names that are very close to being announced or (already) are being announced,’ said Tony DeMartino, a retired Army veteran who serves as deputy chief of staff to Mattis, giving his first and so far only media interview in the job.”

SPEED READ

— Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson says the Navy is considering pulling some ships out of retirement: Military.com

— Boeing plans to cut 50 executives in a reorganization of its defense business: Defense One

— A trio of House Democrats with military and Pentagon experience are launching a new national security task force to push back against policies from Trump and congressional Republicans: CNN

About The Author

Greg Hellman is a defense reporter for POLITICO Pro. He is the author of the Morning Defense newsletter and covers Congress.

Prior to joining POLITICO, Greg worked as a national security analyst for the Government Accountability Office where he focused on defense and counter-ISIS policy. He also worked as a reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Inside Washington Publishers, where he covered worker-safety policy.

Greg grew up outside Milwaukee, Wis. He graduated from Boston University in 2008 and American University in 2013.